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Prediction of Freezing Time and Evaluation of the Effect of Frozen Storage on

Textural Properties of White Trout Fillets

Article in Food Science and Technology Research · May 2013

DOI: 10.3136/fstr.19.375

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Food Sci. Technol. Res., 19 (3), 375 – 379, 2013

Prediction of Freezing Time and Evaluation of the Effect of Frozen Storage on

Textural Properties of White Trout Fillets

Hector A. Jimenez-Avalos*, Leandro Chaires-Martinez and Miguel A. Perez-Vargas

Food Research Center, Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Alamo Temapache, km 6.5 Carretera Potrero del Llano-Tuxpan. Alamo, Veracruz.
92750, Mexico

Received November 15, 2012; Accepted February 8, 2013

The aim of this work was to predict mathematically the freezing time of white trout fillets (Cynoscion
arenarius) and to evaluate the effect of frozen storage on textural properties. A horizontal plate freezer
was used to −30℃ and the process was stopped when the fillets reached −6℃. Then, the frozen fillets were
stored for 8 weeks at −18℃ and analyzed for textural studies each week. The experimental freezing time
(44.56 min) was compared with the values calculated by Plank’s and Nagaoka equations (33.37 and 42.02
min, respectively). The average percentage error for Plank model prediction was 25.11% and with Na-
gaoka model was 5.7%. For textural results, it was found that hardness, adhesiveness and adhesive force
increased constantly during the eight weeks. The prediction of the freezing time could be appropriate for
use by plant operators because of their simplicity and satisfactory performance.

Keywords: white trout, freezing time, Plank model, Nagaoka model, textural properties

Introduction
Freezing is considered to be the simplest and safest
method for long-term preservation of fish (Bhattacharya et
al., 1987). Studies of simple models for the prediction of
freezing times of foods are essential for designing freezers
(Pham, 1996). Models for predicting freezing times may be
classified as empirical or numerical and have been reviewed
by numerous researchers (Delgado and Sun, 2001). Lopez-
Leiva and Hallstrom (2003) published a thorough survey on
the Plank equation, its modifications and extensions. Besides
Plank model, Nagaoka et al. (1955), use Rjutov’s equation
together with Plank’s equation for the calculation of the pre-
cooling and freezing times of fish. Freezing process and fro-
zen storage may alter the quality properties of the products
such as flavor, odor, texture and color changes (Martinez et
al., 2005) and products could become tougher and dryer and
have loss in juiciness (Mackie, 1993).
White trout (Cynoscion arenarius) is found mainly in
the Gulf of Mexico (Gaspar, 1990) where there is a need of
preservation studies in order to promote the industrial ex-
ploitation of this aquatic resource. There is no knowledge in
*To whom correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail: hector_alejandro@hotmail.com
the literature about freezing process of white trout. Thus the
aim of this work was to predict by the mathematical methods
of Plank and Nagaoka the theoretical freezing time of white
trout fillets (C. arenarius) and to evaluate the effect of frozen
storage on textural properties.
Materials and Methods
Sample preparation and chemical composition deter-
mination White trout was collected in Tamiahua Lagoon,
Veracruz (21° 21’ north latitude and 97° 20’ and 95° 50’ west
longitude). Specimen selection was based on size in order to
obtain manually 0.5 cm thick and 15 × 7.5 cm fillets. Proxi-
mal composition of trout fillets were determined accordingly
to the AOAC (1995) methods. It was determined moisture
content, ash, lipids, and proteins.
Freezing and frozen storage In order to simulate a
commercial package, cardboard box of 1 mm thickness
(0.06 W/mK of thermal conductivity) and 3.5 × 7.5 × 15 cm
dimensions was used. Six fillets together were wrapped in
polyethylene bags (0.55 W/mK of thermal conductivity) and
were placed inside the box. These conditions were used too
for storage at −18 ± 2℃ up to eight weeks. The FT34-MKII
horizontal plate freezer (Armfield, England) was cooled to
−30°C and the fillet samples were placed on a stainless steel
376
net from the freezer, in a single layer. The tip of the probe
needle was placed into the geometric center of one fresh fil-
let. The net was then placed into the freezer. The freezing
process was stopped when the temperature at the geometric
center of the fillet reached −6℃, as read on the temperature
recorder. The thermocouple probes of K (NiCr/NiAl) were
used for temperature measurements. 18 batches were repeat-
ed in order to obtain reproducibility.
Freezing time prediction Two mathematical models
were used to predict the theoretical freezing time, Plank
(1941) model (Eq. 1) and Nagaoka et al. (1955) model (Eq. 2):
ρm PL RL 2 
= G
]T f -T mg h
t= + Eq. 1
kf
t f = 6C pu ]T i -T f g+mX w +C pf (T f -T)@
61+0.0045 (T i -T f )@
ρ P.L R . L2
= e + oG  Eq. 2
T f -T m h kf
where: t and tf = freezing times (s), ρ = density of the frozen
material (1059.053 kg/m3), Ti = initial freezing temperature
(10℃), Tm = temperature of the freezing medium (−36℃),
Tf = freezing point of the material (−2℃), T = final product
temperature (−6℃), L = thickness of fish fillet (0.005 m), kf
= thermal conductivity of frozen material (1.6788 W/mK),
Xw = Mass fraction of water (0.663). Eq.1 and Eq.2 include
the constants P, R, β1 and β2. The relationship between them
is based in the graph published by Ede (1949) for block ge-
ometries. β1 and β2 are related to the quotient between large
and short dimensions of the block; thus, to this study β1 =
0.075/0.035 = 2.14 and β2 = 0.15/0.035 = 4.29. Then, inter-
polating in Ede’s graph, P (0.29) and R (0.083) values are
obtained. The surface heat transfer coefficient between re-
frigerating medium and material (h = 120 W/m2K) was taken
from Earle (1998) who reported it for plate freezers. Specific
heats and latent heat of freezing were estimated according
to the percentage of water in the fillets. For this study, if
this percentage is p then: specific heat of fillets above freez-
ing point Cpu = 4.19p/100+ 0.84(100 − p)/100 = 3.0611 kJ
kg−1 K−1 and specific heat of fish below freezing point Cpf =
2.1p/100+0.84(100 − p)/100 = 1.6754 kJ kg−1 K−1. Latent
heat of freezing λ = 335p/100 = 222.105 kJ kg−1.
Textural analysis Once finished the storage period,
sampling was done (one box every week) and fillets were
thawed at 8℃ during 24 h in a temperature controlled room.
The textural properties of frozen white trout fillets were
analyzed using a QTS-25 texture analyzer (CNS FARNELL
BROOKFIELD, USA) equipped with a 5 kg load cell. A
Warner-Bratzler attachment was used applying an uniaxial
compression of 50 mm force of total break and 200 mm/min
H A. Jimenez-Avalos et al.
of speed. Texture parameters analyzed were hardness (g), ad-
hesiveness (gs), adhesive force (g) and fracture force (g). To
verify the statistical significance of the studied parameters,
means and standard deviation of three measurements were
determined. Where it was appropriate, differences between
groups were tested by 2-way ANOVA using SPSS v11.0
software (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL). Significant differences (P
values < 0.05) were assessed using Tukey’s test (Fry, 1996).
Results and Discussion
Chemical composition The elemental compositional
analysis of white trout fillets was 66.7 ± 0.2% moisture con-
tent, 17.03 ± 0.4% protein, 9.7 ± 0.2% fat and 6.67 ± 0.1%
ash. These values did not suffer significant alterations after
the frozen storage period (p > 0.05). For entire white trout,
Krzynowek and Murphy (1987) reported 78.05 of mois-
ture content, 18.69 of protein, 2.65 of fat and 1.03 of ash;
meanwhile Castro et al. (1998) reported 76.2, 18.34, 3.2 and
0.17%, respectively. These differences of nutritional content
in white trout could be attributed to their origin, age, sex,
fishing method, period of fishing and feeding (Castro et al.,
1998).
Freezing time prediction Freezing curve of frozen trout
fillets is shown in Fig. 1. As can be seen, a rapid fall in tem-
perature takes place in the initial period (0 − 15 min). The
temperature drop is much lower around the freezing point.
This is due to the inhibition of temperature change because
of the heat of phase conversion. The rate of temperature drop
is again rapid in the final phase of freezing (30 − 45 min), as
a consequence of further freezing and a simultaneous cool-
ing of the samples (Holworfl, 1970). The average freezing
time measured in the experiments (44.56 ± 0.97 min) was
compared with the values calculated by Plank’s and Nagaoka
equations (33.37 ± 0.68 and 42.02 ± 0.86 min, respectively).
As shown the calculated freezing times were lower than
those found experimentally. The average percentage error for
Plank model prediction was 25.11%; while those obtained
with Nagaoka model was 5.7%. With the above conditions,
freezing time estimation using Nagaoka equation was rea-
sonably accurate, indicating agreement between this model
and the experimental results because the errors are accept-
able in engineering terms (about 10% or less) as has been es-
tablished for meat (fresh and cooked), fish, fruit, cheese and
Tylose gels (Cleland and Earle, 1982; Pham, 1996).
Textural analysis Fig. 2 shows a typical result obtained
from the texture analyzer at the initial sampling period. Fig.
3 shows the behavior of textural parameters of frozen trout
fillets over the entire frozen storage period. Fig. 3a shows
that hardness increased 300 %; from 400 to 1600 g. Sigurgis-
ladottir et al. (1999) found that hardness of Atlantic salmon
Freezing Time and Textural Properties of Frozen White Trout Fillets 377

Fig. 1. Experimental temperature curve in the freezing process of Fig. 2. Typical compression curve of the results obtained from the
white trout fillets. texture analyzer at the initial sampling period.

A B

C D

Fig. 3. Textural properties of frozen white trout fillets throughout the storage period. (A) Hardness, (B) Adhesiveness,
(C) Adhesive force and (D) Fracture force.

increased significantly until the third week of storage. Dur-
ing the freezing process and frozen storage, fish muscle can
undergo a number of changes. The denaturation and aggrega-
tion of the myofibrillar proteins can lead to modifications in
the functional properties of muscle proteins and consequent-
ly the loss of water holding capacity and changes in texture;
these changes could be explaining increments in hardness
(Miler and Sikorski, 1990; Barroso et al., 1998). Moreover,
it was reported that progressive increase in the hardness of
chilled salted catfish (Yashoda and Rao, 1998), mackerel
meat (Shimomura and Matsumoto, 1985) and salmon fillets
(Sigurgisladottir et al., 2000) is provoked by the widening
of the interstitial space, clumping of cells, decomposition
of the muscle proteins and fiber shrinkage. Fig. 3b shows
that adhesiveness increased 180% (from 21 g.s up to 59 g.s)
indicating that freezing process helped to stabilize the tis-
sues of the fillets due to the protein denaturation; so in order
to break the fillet it is necessary to apply a greater attractive
force (Anzaldúa, 2005). Fig. 3c shows that adhesive force
increased 135% (from 20 g up to 47 g) which is explained
by the deformation of the fillet due to the frozen storage tem-
perature. Fracture force (Fig. 3d) decreased 76.6% (from 300
378
g up to 70 g). Earlier reports using fresh species like cod,
haddock, hake, Alaska pollock, and tilapia but to a lesser
extent with salmon or trout (Gill et al., 1979; Hurling and
McArthur, 1996; Kreuger and Fennema, 1989) have shown
that protein denaturation, water loss and toughening of fresh
fish are associated with frozen storage. This has mainly been
attributed to conformational transitions of muscle proteins,
mainly actin and myosin, that lead to protein aggregation,
involving hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bridges and
the formation of covalent, non-disulphide bonds as well as
to changes in the structure of the water, and/or alterations in
the protein-water interactions; together with a transfer of wa-
ter to larger spatial domains (Del Mazo et al., 1999; Tejada,
2001; Herrero et al., 2005).
Conclusions
Different periods of freezing had a variable effect on tex-
tural measurements of white trout Cynoscion arenarius. In
general, there was more hardness, adhesiveness and adhesive
force in frozen fillets than in fresh fillets and the values of
these parameters were increased constantly during the eight
weeks. Additionally, the prediction of the freezing time show
that the numerical model of Nagaoka are in good agreement
with the experimental values as expected and could be ap-
propriate for use by plant operators because of their simplic-
ity and satisfactory performance.
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